USNotion was a shopping website that sold various products such as clothes, power tools, lawn items, office supplies, and toys online. To get to the bottom of the USNotion scam and avoid similar fraudulent sites in the future, read our review.
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What Was USNotion?
Located at the now-defunct www.usnotion.com address, USNotion presented itself as an eCommerce store that offered a varied selection of preen (luxury) goods along with an apparel collection.
Although USNotion didn’t explicitly state that its apparel collection was its own brand, it was implied. The collection included the following types of apparel goods:
- Tops
- Sweatshirts
- Dresses
- Skirts
- Trousers
- Knitwear
- Shoes
- Jackets/Coats
USNotion attracted buyers through social media campaigns, mainly on Facebook. However, people who made purchases on their website soon complained about being scammed.
Eventually, it seemed like USNotion went out of business. The domain name usnotion.com was left to expire, and you can no longer find the original site on the web.
Why Was USNotion Considered a Scam?
Many people who bought items from USNotion reported not receiving their orders. Or when they did, the items were the wrong ones or didn’t match the descriptions on the website. Some of them were obviously of low quality or didn’t work as they were intended.
When the purchasers complained to the company, they either didn’t get any reply, or the replies weren’t helpful at all. Returns were supposed to be granted within 30 days of the shipping date and refunds were supposed to be processed within 7 business days upon receipt of the package. Nevertheless, this didn’t happen for a lot of unhappy purchasers.
Instead, unsatisfied online buyers had no recourse but to contact their banks or financial institutions to have their transactions canceled and their money refunded.
How Do You Spot a Fraudulent Online Store Like USNotion?
USNotion’s eCommerce website showed plenty of red flags from the beginning. If you want to avoid getting fleeced by unscrupulous businesses like USNotion, here’s what to look out for:
1. Company Profile and Contact Details
When shopping on a new or relatively unknown online retail site, the first thing you should do is check the company’s details. This is usually enough to tell you if the business is legit.
As you can see, USNotion’s contact details seemed to be more or less standard.
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +86 13734645928
Contact: Wu Xinran
Address: No. 34, Yongxing street, Hengqin New District, Zhuhai, Guangdong, China 519031
However, if you search for this physical address in Google Maps, you won’t find an exact match. It appears that only partial segments of the address are authentic.
This could indicate that the address has been fabricated. You have to ask yourself why a legitimate business would do this.
2. Domain Details
Another thing you can do is research the website’s domain details. One of the most useful tools is a WHOIS checker.
WHOIS is a query and response protocol that goes through various internet databases to find the registered users or assignees of a domain name, an IP address block, or an autonomous system.
In USNotion’s case, the owner’s name and address were concealed.
3. Terms and Conditions
Most people tend to ignore a website or app’s terms and conditions, and who can blame them? The terms and conditions are usually pages and pages long and difficult to read. They’re full of legal jargon that the ordinary consumer doesn’t understand.
USNotion’s Terms and Conditions/ Terms of Use page mentioned that its terms of service would be governed by and construed according to the laws of 263 Kensal Road London GB W10 5DB.
This is an address in the United Kingdom. It doesn’t seem right that British laws would govern a company operating in China, does it? The obvious conclusion is that USNotion only copied and pasted its terms and conditions from another site.
Either that, or USNotion was lying about its actual company address.
4. Payment Methods
A lot of people fell for USNotion’s scam because it accepted PayPal. They believed that since PayPal is an established company, being connected with it somehow means legitimacy.
PayPal Holdings, Inc. is an American financial tech company that facilitates online payments and money transfers worldwide. It’s an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods such as checks and money orders. They also offer enhanced buyer protection.
On PayPal’s website, it says:
Buyer protection ensures you get what you pay for. When something goes wrong with your eligible transactions, PayPal Buyer Protection has you covered. Get a full refund if an eligible order isn’t significantly as described, or doesn’t arrive at your doorstep.
Still, PayPal didn’t appear to be helpful regarding complaints about USNotion. As user Bucket202 wrote:
I went through the dispute process twice, even spoke to a customer service rep. after hours of trying. A total waste of time. Do yourself a favor and go straight to your financial institution. One would think PayPal would shut down sites like USNOTION after having so many disputes. Zero help from PayPal.
USNotion didn’t accept any other payment method than PayPal. You couldn’t shop on its website with a credit or debit card.
5. Prices Are Too Low
Some of the prices for the items being sold on USNotion were simply too good to be true.
As you can see, USNotion was selling a DEWALT table saw for only $74.99. The price of a similar table saw model from the same brand is being sold on Amazon for almost $300.
While it’s true that some eCommerce sites offer goods at huge discounts, the price discrepancy is just too great in this case. So if a deal seems to be too fantastic, you should be suspicious.
Takeaway
Hundreds of new online stores are being launched every day, and sometimes it’s hard to determine which ones are legit. Some of the ways you can tell are listed here, but it’s better to stay away from new eCommerce sites until they’ve been in business for a while.
At the very least, you should do some research before you purchase something from a new online store because you might not get what you pay for. Many of these websites don’t deliver the purchased items or try to scam you with completely different or very low-quality goods. Remember: if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
In addition, some fraudulent online stores even steal or misuse your credit card information. If this happens to you, contact your bank or credit card company immediately.
